Wuxi Impressions: A City Named “No Tin” & Its Industrial Heritage | 21-22 Nov 2023 скачать в хорошем качестве

Wuxi Impressions: A City Named “No Tin” & Its Industrial Heritage | 21-22 Nov 2023

21–22 November 2023, Wuxi. Sunny days. On a business trip, friends drove me around—city library, creative parks converted from old factories built by early industrialists (like the Rong family). Casual footage by the filmmaker of Masters in the Forbidden City and Every Treasure Tells a Story. ——— Wuxi—does the name really mean “no tin”? Sounds like “no 300 taels of silver here.” Scholars debate two main theories: One: a legend of tin depletion. During Qin, Xishan produced lead and tin; by Han, mines exhausted—hence “Wuxi” (no tin). During Wang Mang‘s interregnum, it was briefly renamed “Youxi” (have tin), but Eastern Han restored “Wuxi.” Another: ancient Yue language origin. Like Yuhang, Gusu, Zhuji, Jurong, the first character “wu” (无) may be a prefix with no meaning—lost to time. Modern scholars lean this way. ——— Wuxi was a cradle of modern Chinese industry. 1920s–30s: Wuxi‘s industrial output ranked third nationally; workforce second only to Shanghai. It was one of China’s six great industrial cities. The Rong family‘s story intertwines with the city’s fate. Friends took me to the Maoxin Flour Mill site, founded 1900 by Rong Zongjing and Rong Desheng—their first venture, Wuxi‘s first mechanized flour mill. Existing buildings (1948): wheat warehouse, milling plant, office, and machinery. Red brick, steel windows, wooden floors—pure retro. By 1937, the Rongs produced 1/3 of China‘s flour and 29% of its textiles. Mao called them “leading national capitalists.” A unique 1946 spiral chute (UK import) for bagged flour remains. We also visited the Kaiyuan Machine Works site (now Canal Bund). Originally part of the Rongs’ business, later a leading machine tool factory. Red brick preserved, modern glass inserted—old slogans still on beams. Art center, trendy shops, wedding venue… industrial memory meets contemporary creativity. ——— The Rongs gave back—bridges, libraries, schools, gardens. They built 102 bridges in Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou via the “Thousand Bridges Association,” founded Dagong Library, Jiangnan University, public schools, and Meiyuan Garden—earning Wuxi the nickname “Little Shanghai.” ——— Wuxi preserves 79 industrial heritage sites (34 protected). In the 1980s, Wuxi County pioneered China‘s first “100‑million‑yuan village,” core to the “Sunan Model.” Maoxin Flour Mill joined China’s first Industrial Heritage list (2018), and in 2023 became Wuxi‘s first nationally certified industrial heritage site. Kaiyuan Machine Works was protected in 2003. ——— Where do we begin to understand a city? With its name—from “Youxi” to “Wuxi,” from tin legends to lost Yue prefixes. With its industrial heritage—spiral chutes, red‑brick factories. With its pioneers—the Rongs’ legacy in bridges, schools, gardens. #快节奏生活中有什么让自己慢下来的方式 #WaysToSlowDownInAFastPacedLife #分享给有艺术细胞的你 #ForTheArtisticSoul #与小小的我一起探索世界 #ExploreTheWorldWithLittleMe #这个时代的文明会在历史中留下什么痕迹 #WhatTracesWillThisEraLeaveInHistory #拍出电影感 #Cinematic #探索城市隐秘角落 #ExploringHiddenCorners #无锡 #Wuxi #应该从哪里开始了解一座城市 #WhereToBeginUnderstandingACity #城市更新 #UrbanRenewal #地名背后的历史故事 #HistoricalStoriesBehindPlaceNames 2023年11月21日至22日，无锡。晴天。因为出差去了无锡，几位朋友开车带我逛了市区的图书馆、近代民族企业家旧厂房改造的创意园（比如荣氏家族）。 ——— 无锡，这个名字，真的是“这里没有锡矿”的意思吗？ 听起来像“此地无银三百两”的感觉。关于无锡地名的起源，学界主要有两种观点： 一个是锡矿枯竭的历史传说。相传秦时期锡山盛产铅锡，到汉朝锡矿枯竭，所以命名为“无锡”。更有趣的是，无锡在历史上有一段时间叫做“有锡”——西汉时无锡设县，王莽篡汉后曾改名为“有锡县”（寓意锡矿复兴），但东汉光武帝又恢复“无锡”之名，此后历代沿用至今。 另一个是源于古越语的发音。这种说法认为，无锡跟江浙地区的余杭、姑苏、诸暨、句容一样，并非源于汉语，而是来自古越语。头一个字“无、余、诸、姑、句”是发语词，没有实际意义，后一个字才具有实际意义。无锡，“无”是发语词，“锡”的原义因为古越语佚亡太久，已经无从考证。现代学者多倾向于这一观点。 ——— 无锡是中国近代民族工商业的重要发源地。 1920至1930年代，无锡工业产值居全国第三，工人数量仅次于上海，与上海、天津等并称“中国六大工业都市”。而荣氏家族作为无锡最具代表性的工商业家族，其发展轨迹与无锡的城市命运紧密交织。 朋友带我去了茂新面粉厂旧址。这是荣宗敬、荣德生兄弟于1900年创办的企业，是荣家发轫之始基，也是无锡第一家机制面粉厂。现存1948年建成的毛麦仓库、制粉车间、粉库、办公楼以及面粉生产机器设备。红砖钢窗、木质地板、水泥拉毛外墙——满满的时代感。 1937年前，荣氏家族的面粉产量占全国1/3，纺织产能占全国29%。毛泽东曾称荣家为“民族资本家的首户”。厂里保存着一组1946年从英国进口的螺旋形转梯，用于运输成品袋装面粉，国内仅此一组。 我们还去了开源机床厂旧址（运河外滩）。这是荣氏家族的开源机器厂，后改名为开源机床厂，长期位居全国机床工业前列。现在老厂房的红砖外衣下是通透的落地玻璃幕墙，横梁上旧时代的生产口号被完整保留。艺术中心、潮牌店、婚礼艺术中心……工业记忆与当代创意在这里共振。 ——— 荣氏兄弟不仅办实业，也积极回报社会。 他们发起“千桥会”，在苏锡常建桥102座；投身教育，建立大公图书馆、江南大学、公益中学等；还兴建梅园等园林景点，使无锡城乡面貌焕然一新，被誉为“小上海”。 ——— 无锡留存79处工业遗产，其中34处列入市级保护。 1980年代，无锡县培育出全国首个亿元村、亿元乡，成为“苏南模式”的核心实践区。茂新面粉厂旧址2018年入选首批中国工业遗产保护名录，2023年成为无锡首个国家工业遗产认定项目。开源机床厂2003年被列入工业遗产保护名录。 ——— 我们从何处开始了解一座城市？ 从它的名字开始——从“有锡”到“无锡”，从锡矿传说到古越语的发语词。 从它的工业遗产开始——从茂新面粉厂的螺旋转梯，从开源机床厂的红砖厂房。 从它的实业家开始——从荣氏兄弟的创业史，从他们建的桥、办的学、留的园。